Batty Dolls' House

[2] Some later sources refer to the house as having been completed in 1930, but it was officially opened on 15 of March 1929 by the Duchess of Norfolk at the Shipley Division Unionist Association Empire Bazaar in Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

[11] It is reported that the autograph book contained "over 200 titled signatures", with one such example being Sir William Davies, Editor of The Western Mail.

[12] The dolls' house was then loaned to the Richold Collection, which by 1931 was owned jointly by "Mr. W. H. Todd, a native of Leeds, and Mr. H. Bell of Sheffield".

[1] The dolls' house continued to be exhibited extensively alongside the Richold Collection at venues around England and Wales from 1930 up until the beginning of World War II.

[20] Additionally, during the war, the dolls' house was stored for safety in a room under Brighton railway station,[20] presumably alongside the Richold Collection.

[21] By February 1969 the Batty Dolls' house was owned by Todd's daughter, Mrs. Una Wilson, and was on display at Kinch and Lack, an outfitters in Worthing.

[14] The deal fell through, however, because the company also wanted the Richold Collection (then on display on the West Pier, Brighton) which Wilson is reported as saying she had promised to the Middlesbrough Museum.

[3] The dolls' house was then in store for a few months before it went to Arreton Manor, possibly on loan since there is no reference to its sale, near Newport on the Isle of Wight, to be displayed in the library.

[3][22] In 1974 the Batty Dolls' House at Arreton was mentioned in a newspaper advert as one of the attractions included in tours of the Isle of Wight.

[26] The exterior of the house incorporated "a device of Mr. Batty's own invention whereby the chimneys could be swept without entering the respective rooms.

[1] The floor of the hallway was made of inlaid marble "of an original and beautiful design", and a "fine double staircase, with electric standards at the base" led up to the landing above.

[1] The ground floor dining room featured a finely built ceiling, oak furniture upholstered in "warm red Morocco leather", a bookcase stocked with miniature books, a sideboard with a "decanter, cigars and little jars of Chivers' jam" on it, a "cosy armchair", small pewter plates on a plate-rack, a "colourful carpet and glowing fire".

In one bedroom a piece of furniture described as a "bed-cum-radiator-cum-wardrobe-cum-medicine-chest-cum-safe" was made to Batty's own design and the wardrobe, chest, and "secret safe" were all built into the bed head.